Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

Learn the fundamentals of Baseball!

Level: Grade 1 – Adult
Originated by: Treetop Publishing

The objective for this game is to teach players the basic, underlying rules of Baseball. This game may be played by two or more players, with players beyond the first two forming teams. While ideally teams will have an equal number of players, odd-numbered teams are allowed.

Board set-up:

• A baseball diamond should be drawn or pasted to the board
• A spinner for the pitching mound that is divided eight times with “B” (ball) and “S” (strike) alternately on the spinner (see diagram 1)
• A spinner for left field divided four times with the words “Field” and “Catch” written on the spinner alternately
• Question Cards, each with four baseball rule questions ranging from easy (earns a single if correct) to difficult (earns home run)
• A scoreboard to be placed in deep right field

To Play:

1. Home and visiting team placement shall be determined by a coin toss. The visiting team shall bat first
2. A player from the pitching team spins the Pitching Spinner to determine the nature of the pitch (strike or ball).
3. After the pitch has been determined, the first player from the batting team announces whether s/he will take the pitch or swing. A player may make either decision on either type of
   pitch.
4. If the batter takes the pitch, play returns to the pitcher and normal baseball rules apply: four falls mean a walk (if first base is occupied, runner advances to second, etc.), three strikes mean an out, three outs is the end of a team’s half of the inning.
5. If the batter decides to swing at the pitch, s/he must then declare what outcome s/he desires – single, double, triple, or home run.
6. The pitcher (or another player from the pitching team) then draws a card from one of the stacks and asks the batter the question matching the batter’s declaration.
7. If the batter answers the question incorrectly, the swing is considered a strike, and normal rules apply (3 strikes=out).
8. If the batter answers the question correctly, the player has made contact with the ball. The pitcher (or next player on the pitching team) spins the Fielding Spinner to determine whether the ball can be caught or must be fielded.
9. In either case, the defensive player must correctly answer the same level question as the batter to make the play. For example, if the batter answered a question correctly for a single and the pitcher correctly answered another question in the “Single” category, the batter would be out at first. If, in another instance, a batter correctly answered a question for a triple, and the pitching team correctly answered another “Triple” question, the batter would be awarded a double rather than the full value of the original question. Obviously, any ball that is caught (that is, the pitching team answers the Catch question correctly) is an out.
10. Score keeping: the run, strike, ball, and out indicators on the scoreboard in deep right field should be used to keep track of each statistic. Score may be kept by each player or a separate player acting as scorekeeper. Balls and strikes should be zeroed for each new batter, and outs at the end of each half inning, while runs accumulate for the length of the game.
11. For the purpose of this game, it is assumed that runners on base only advance one base for every one that the batter reaches. That is, a runner on first base cannot reach third base on a single.
12. Bases may not be stolen, and runners may not be caught in run-downs.
13. . Half an inning is over when the defense has made three outs. The players switch sides, and play continues through nine full innings or until called by consensus among the players.